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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26603923">You're Only a Memory</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgataVarano/pseuds/AgataVarano'>AgataVarano</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scar [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Best Friends, Canon-Typical Violence, Cliffhangers, Cute, Elize is the leader of the lara/stephen shipping club, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Major Character Dumbassery, Mind Control, Mind Control Aftermath &amp; Recovery, Protective Siblings, Pure Ray of Sunshine, Slow Burn, Theyre in love but theyre the only ones who dont know it, babies being babies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:07:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,150</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26603923</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgataVarano/pseuds/AgataVarano</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You ought to never trust someone so eager to kill people who get in her way and Jonas Feige should know it, but maybe her daughter has grown more resonable. And who knows, she may even find some old friend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Natasha Romanov &amp; Original Female Character, Original Female Character &amp; Original Female Character, Original Female Character &amp; Original Male Character, Stephen Strange &amp; Original Female Character(s), Tony Stark &amp; Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Scar [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826437</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>You're Only a Memory</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>• English is not my first language so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes.<br/>• You can find this and more fics on my Tumblr @/let-me-write-my-life and my Instagram @/agata_varano.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Wake me if I ever fall asleep. - Saint Asonia (Ghost)</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"What is the guy's name again?" Jonathan asks after entering the small pub, holding the door for Lara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Brad, and he's cool, don't worry. He has been my therapist for years," she answers with a light smirk as she moves a hand to adjust her ponytail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He looks at her shocked. "Wait, wait! Your therapist was... </span>
  <em>
    <span>a guy working in a pub</span>
  </em>
  <span>??"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smiles. "Him and the Cloak of Levitation." She furrows her brows. "Which could be one of the many reasons why I'm a crazy ass psychopath who trains without listening to music…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shakes his head slightly, following her to a small table in a corner. "You're trying to tell me that man listened to all your rants and is still sane?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And I got a fortune on tips too," a man says with a wide smile, joining the conversation. According to the smile on Lara's face when she turns to him, he must be Brad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His appearance is far from Jonathan's expectations. Not in a bad way, though. He's a black man of about fifty years, with a thick black beard and long hair, braided and tied up neatly. His eyes are a little small compared to the size of his face and by the way he acts he seems jovial and outgoing. Jonathan can't believe the man who's tightly hugging Lara in that exact moment, patting her back and saying something that makes her laugh, once was the second of the local Head of Department of Agency X.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan is brought back from his attentive studies of the man's behaviour by him holding out his hand with a smile. "Lara told me about you. I'm Brad Coleman, glad to finally meet you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiles a little too, shaking his hand. Brad's grip is tight and strong and he has the typical callous derived from the use of firearms. "Jonathan Houghton."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brad's face darkens, his big lips turning slightly downwards. "Houghton… I heard about your father, I'm really sorry," he says, patting his shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In that moment, Jonathan understands why Lara could open up with that guy. In all his life he has never met anyone like him. Anyone but Lara, actually. He has an aura, a comforting energy radiating off him. He tries to cover up his hurt expression, ignoring the pain the memory of his father still brings him, and weakly smiles, his hand covering Brad's and squeezing it. "Thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brad then looks up and turns to Lara, who has set her backpack on the nearby bench. "What can I bring you guys? Have you already had lunch?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shakes her head. "But don't worry about that, we can eat at the Sanctum. We just came to greet you." She crosses her arms and tilts her head to the side. "We haven't caught in a while, have we?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That is a good enough reason for you two to have something," he insists. "Sit down, I'll be back in a minute,"  he concludes gesturing to the red seats and the dark table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not much time later, he's back with drinks and burgers. Placing the plates before his two hungry friends, he looks at Lara and takes something out of his apron pocket. He then hands it to her, who stares confused at the leather notebook. It's so small it could fit anywhere and its black cover would easily go unnoticed inside an Agency dark bomber.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yesterday I was tiding my garage and found it among my old Agency X gear. I thought you could use it," he says pointing at it. Jonathan listens carefully to the man as he inserts a chip in his mouth. "I used it to write down all the things I had to remember." Then he glances to Jonathan and gestures to his forehead. "Since I hit my head against the bottom of the pool when I was eight, I tend to forget random information."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you," Lara replies with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smiles in response and goes back to the kitchen, leaving the two siblings with their meal. As she takes a sip of her coke, Lara removes the tie around Brad's notebook and opens it, starting to read it attentively. "What does it say?" Jonathan asks after a few minutes, shifting in his seat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looks up to him with a slight disappointed face. "Names and locations, there are just names of agents and locations of bases, but many of them have been respectively arrested or taken down long ago." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally her gaze sets on one of the last pages, a big coffee stain of its edge. In the middle of the page, written in capital letters, there is the name of the person Katrina told her about: Mitch Anderson. After that, there are some other names, if they can be called this way, and a note saying "Project 79." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan s about to say something, when his phone starts ringing. Lara makes a confused grimace at the Beatles song coming from his phone, but he deliberately ignores her and answers the call. On the other side, Lilith Cohen, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, wastes no time with greeting and immediately gets to the point. "Where are you and your sister?" She asks with her usual cold tone as she taps her bloody red nails on the desk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan furrows his brows shocked, adjusting on his seat. "Bleecker Street." His hand grips the glass. "Do you need anything?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lilith straightens herself, draping an arm over her lap. Throwing a glance at the empty cup on her desk, she takes a mental note to ask one of her colleagues to bring her a coffee. "A friend of yours has come to visit." Imagining the change of colour on the man's face, she explains. "He's disarmed, don't worry, but refuses to speak with anyone but you two. You may want to come here, but feel free to take your time." She smirks mischievously. "Stark dealing with him is quite the show."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan nods, glancing at Lara. The other one, after swallowing a bite of her burger, grins. "Ask her out," she mouths.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolls his eyes and turns back to the phone. "Uhm, Lily… I was wondering-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lilith widens her eyes and cuts short. "Sorry, have to go. See you." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a sigh, Jonathan stares at the now black screen as an inhuman desire to cut someone's head builds up inside Lara.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Come on, just tell us your name!" Tony’s exasperation can be read on his face as he tries to get the man sitting in front of him to say anything at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His interlocutor, on the other hand, just shakes his head slowly. "I'm only talking with either Johnson or Houghton, no one else."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony pinches the bridge of his nose and Natasha takes a step forward. "Why do you need them specifically?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughs under his breath, crossing his arms on his chest, but doesn't answer. His smile turns into a smirk when he sees the door opening and the two siblings entering the room. "If I had called Millain, we could have done a hell of a reunion."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara doesn't flinch, her eyes throwing daggers at him. "And I hoped our reunion would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>in</span>
  </em>
  <span> hell."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan crosses his arms on his chest and stops beside Lara. "Feige," he greets coldly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonas just nods in his direction before a devilish grin forms on his face. "Houghton, how's your father?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He clenches his jaw. "I don't know, do you wanna go ask him?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What do you want?" Lara interrupts them. She takes a step forward and waves her hand as Tony and Natasha leave the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonas shifts in his seat. "Apparently it's a familiar thing not to like me." Lara tilts her head slightly to the side and he explains. "Long short story, your mother wants me dead. She even sent some assassins after me!" He laughs sadly. "How sad, trusting someone and being stabbed in the back as a thank you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara grabs a metal chair and places it backwards in front of Jonas. While he's still talking, she sits down, her forearms resting on its back. "So you want to help us out of spite?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nods and Jonathan walks behind him, hovering over him like a black vulture. "And why should we trust you?" He asks, not missing any of the other's movements.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonas turns to face him completely. "I assure you I'll say nothing but the truth, even when it's uncomfortable or awkward for me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara leans back a little and shares a glance with Jonathan. After a moment she crosses her arms over the back of the chair and nods. "Fine, tell us all you know."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the following hour Lara and Jonathan attentively listen to Jonas' rants about Agency X, even though he doesn't tell them anything they didn't already know. He has just stopped talking about Sandra wanting both her children dead when Lara leans back slightly. "And tell me, what do you know about Project 79?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonas furrows his brows and looks up as if to collect his thoughts. "Project 79… Project 79…" he mumbles. Finally something lights up in his mind. "Oh yeah, I know a lot about it. What do you want to know?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan, who has moved to sit on the nearby table as soon as he noticed Jonas felt like talking, moves a hand through his hair. "Everything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other nods and leans back. "Well well, Project 79 was created by Sandra a couple weeks after my father's departure. She said this friend of hers, I guess his name was Mitch, had created these serums and microchips that could control human memory. The idea was to take as many dead agents as possible, replace any damaged body parts with mechanical ones and bring them back to life with electric discharges." He leans forward, his forearms resting on his knees. "Then, they'd brainwash those walking corpses until they remembered nothing about themselves. Their entire memory could be controlled with just a couple words."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan breaths out a laugh. "Why would you need to control someone's memory that much?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonas looks down at the floor, perhaps actually understanding for the first time what he had given his approval to. "The whole initial brainwash isn't final. Tell me, Houghton, what if one of these highly trained spies gets arrested? And what if S.H.I.E.L.D. finds a base and you have to get rid of everything, walking corpses included?" He smirks and looks up at him. "I'll answer. You wipe their memory completely. One word and everything you've told them is gone forever. Or on the other hand, one word and they remember everything."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara furrows her brows. "So they wipe their memories and access to it however they want </span>
  <em>
    <span>with just a few words</span>
  </em>
  <span>?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nods. "That's because of the serum they put in their brains. And they also give them a lot of microchips and trackers, just in case." He furrows his brows suddenly, something else crossing his mind. "I guess they keep all this information somewhere, but I'm not really sure," he mumbles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And what are these words?" She asks, suddenly interested in the question.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He smirks. "'Departe' to wipe their memory, 'Acasă' to bring it back." He shifts in his seat. "Oh and they only speak Romanian. I don't exactly know why, but still…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan gets up from the table. "And where can we find them?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No more than an hour later, Lara and Jonathan are rushing to the airport to fly as soon as possible to New Orleans. Despite the idea of meeting an even more horrific version of the Winter Soldier being quite attractive, their main intent is to find Sandra before she can run anywhere else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What they do not know is that, just as Lara is dragging Jonathan through the crowded check-in area, Sandra is tapping her perfectly painted nails on Jonas' former desk with a smirk. The woman reaches for her phone, her lips pulling into a smile when she hears Anderson picking up on the other side. The man grins. "How may I help you, my muse?" He pays little to no attention to the muffled screams of the short brunette chained to a chair behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your sensational creations failed to kill Feige," she says coldly, a deadly glance thrown at the poor guy bringing her coffee. Then she lays an arm on the cold wooden surface and leans forward, her dark red lips twitching. "But I feel generous today and I'll give them a second chance."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mitch steps out of the room, annoyed by the noisy torture going on inside. "I've already told you, darling, they have great potential. Using them against Feige was a waste of time."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nods and straightens herself. "Whatever. But this time they'd better meet my expectations." She smirks mischievously. "I only want the best for my sweet children."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughs on the other side of the phone. "Great then. Should I send the main group after Bonnie and Clyde?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She clicks her tongue. "Oh no, send my personal guards, it'll be much more fun." She takes a sip of coffee, her lipstick staining the plastic cup. "We'll enjoy a good show and they'll find a pleasant surprise."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guard, a guy with thick eyebrows and a missing thumb, yawns and covers his mouth with a hand. He listlessly reaches for his phone and dials a number. "The main corridor on the ground floor is clear," he mumbles. Upon hearing a weak nod from the other side of the call, he turns off his phone and is about to go back to his half-asleep state, except that in that exact moment an arm wraps around his throat. He tries to scream, but a hand over his mouth muffles his voice and he quickly passes out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara lets the man gracelessly fall on the ground. "And one is gone," she whispers, turning to Jonathan for a brief moment before stepping over the guard and rushing down the hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan smirks and throws a quick glance at the man. "Why do I have the feeling there won't be many more?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two siblings cross the whole base, surprised to find it mildly empty. Finally they enter what is supposed to be the laboratory and, after quickly knocking out the dozen scientists working, they start looking around themselves. Lara inspects the glassware, carefully studying everything. Finding nothing, she then moves to the archive and starts checking the numerous white folders one by one.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You stay here, I'll go check the other room," Jonathan says as he gets up from beside the counter he was looking inside. He's referring to the smaller laboratory on the other side of the hallway, the one they cleared of any agent but didn't pay much attention to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara nods and goes back to her files. After Jonathan has left the room, she huffs. Despite the insane amount of information kept in the room, nothing seems to be about Project 79. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>About fifteen minutes later, she finally lays her hands on a heavy green cardboard box, hastily hidden behind a bunch of other boxes containing a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> different kind of document, the one that for some reason Lara would really prefer not to know is always sticky. She places the box on the ground and starts inspecting the various folders, meticulously photographing everything that may be useful. The process is quite fast and she's ready to get up and leave, when her eyes set on a folder placed at the bottom of the box, the label on the cover almost faded away completely. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Agent 225</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <em>
    <span>"</span>
  </em>
  <span> But it's what she reads in capital letters on the first page that makes her eyes widen and her heart stop, her hand instinctively moving to her mouth to muffle a gasp. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Elize Shinn. Status: alive</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
  <em>
    <span>"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The next thing she remembers is a chair crashing against her back and making her fall down. She rolls on her back and before her very eyes she sees it, that round face with those big brown eyes, framed by rebel chocolate locks. Lara avoids for a inch a kick to her face and rapidly gets back up on her feet. She reaches for the gun inside her leg holster and points the barrel at the other, swallowing hardly at the sigh of the black mask on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Elize?" She asks, her voice trembling as her eyes wander across the woman's body. The long sleeved shirt fails to conceal a bionic arm and a few inches of metal can be seen coming out from underneath its neckline.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman looks at her with a puzzled expression, but her eyes are void, almost as if there was nothing beyond those dark irises. "Nu știu despre cine vorbești*," she mutters between gritted teeth, her unnaturally deep voice muffled by the fabric over her lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She steps forward, almost as if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> Lara could never pull the trigger, not on her, and Lara wants to take a step back, but her legs are frozen and she can't seem to move. The agent is about to punch Lara on the jaw, but she promptly stops her attack with an air shield. "Liz," she pleads before pushing the woman away. The other doesn't flinch and kicks her in the stomach, forcing her to bend down. "Elize, it's me," she continues, "please Liz."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another punch, this time successful, hits her face, making a thin trail of blood start flowing down her nose. Lara's eyes water and she doesn't know if it's because of the physical or emotional pain. Maybe both. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Sandra, I swear, as soon as I find you-"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She can't finish her thought that a punch almost reaches her face again. And then another one. And another one. Elize doesn't seem to care about her pleas and goes on attacking her, kick after kick, punch after punch, and Lara can only stop her hits as a knot forms in her throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The witch throws a quick glance at her gun, now laying useless on the floor, and unwisely reaches for it. She has barely stretched her arm when Elize's forearm, or at least the metal limb that has at some point taken its place, wraps around her throat. The woman's grip is frighteningly tight and the metal around Lara's neck is stone cold. The witch whines desperately for air, tears coming to her eyes. If this all had happened not so many years before, she would have called it karma. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"I take your life, you take mine."</span>
  </em>
  <span> And her mind races to the time when Elize wasn't a brainwashed assassin choking her in an empty laboratory, but her loving friend who always managed to make her smile. She sniffles at the thought and, as air stops filling her lungs and her lips turn blue, she remembers the days when Elize was Elize and not Agent 225, when she hated Tony with all her heart, when Jonas did not-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonas. Jonas and his words. What were they? Lara starts fidgeting, trying to get enough oxygen inside her chest to talk. "Acasă," she finally manages to whisper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize freezes in place and stops choking her. The other woman brings a pale hand to her friend's arm, who starts muttering incoherent words, as if her brain had shorted out. "I… I…" Her words are shaky, a perfect mix of Agent 225's and Elize's.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Acasă," Lara continues, this time more confidently. "Ești acasă," she tries saying with a pronunciation that is far from the one she could once be proud of, but still seems to work. When the arm around her throat loosens its grip, Lara smiles weakly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Apparently Anderson isn't great at speaking Romanian too."</span>
  </em>
  <span> She carefully removes Elize's arm from around her neck and turns to face her friend. "It's okay," she says, her tone surprisingly calm considering all the emotions going on inside of her. "I- I promise." She reaches for Elize's hand and brings her gaze up to her face, afraid to see those blank eyes again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead the woman shakes her head ever so slightly, like she had been daydreaming the whole time. She opens her mouth, but her lips tremble as she slowly removes the black mask and places it on the nearby counter. "Lara?" She asks with a whisper of voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara lets go a breath, something not recommended to someone who has been choked for the past minutes, but she doesn't care. She literally launches herself in Elize's arms, pulling her closer. No more than an instant later (just the time to process who she has before her eyes), Elize hugs her back, arms around her neck in a much more pleasant way than before. Taken over by happiness, Lara squeezes her and lays her head on her shoulder, letting the other woman soothingly massage her back. After an indefinite amount of time, Lara feels a muffled giggle coming to her ear. "Just a friendly reminder that I have ribs, and they are breakable, Elle." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She breathes out a laugh and lets her go. "As you wish, boss."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize rolls her eyes, but is suddenly struck by lightning and stares at Lara. "Wait what are you doing here?" She quickly studies her friend's new appearance and raises an eyebrow. "Glad to see you're done with orange hair dye though."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara smiles and opens her mouth to explain everything, when a panicking Jonathan rushes inside the room, a small cut on his forehead. "Elle, you may want to hurry, there are other guys down- who the hell are you?" He gestures to Elize, cautiously stepping forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara crosses her arms with a sigh. "Jonathan, this is Elize. Elize, my brother Jonathan."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize furrows her brows. "Wait, slow down. Since </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span> do you have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>brother</span>
  </em>
  <span>?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Since I was born," she replies, leaning forward with a smirk. "Turns out they just forgot to tell me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize nods and turns to Jonathan, who crosses his arms as he moves closer to his sister, still studying the woman before him. "Good to know. What were you saying?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lara is observing out of the big floor to ceiling window, slightly moving the curtain to better capture every movement outside the flat. Elize, who is sitting on the bed not far from the woman, studies her, her head tilted to the side. She straightens herself. "Tell me again, whose apartment is this?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara throws a last glance outside before turning around with a light smile. "S.H.I.E.L.D." With a few large steps she plops on the bed, right beside Elize. "Pretty, isn't it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughs as she caresses her metal arm, still not used to the cold material now making up a large part of her body. "So you did listen to me in the end."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other one chuckles, laying down on the bed. "It took a while, but I did."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize is about to say something, but is interrupted by Jonathan stepping into the room and walking closer to them. Moving a hand through his freshly washed hair, he approaches Elize. "Hate to ruin the mood, but are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> you don't remember anything?" </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugs. "I told you, I have no idea how I ended up there. I just…" She freezes, realizing hitting her like a truck. She brings a hand to her mouth as her eyes water, guilt taking over her. "I… I did not… You…? Did- did I attack you?" She looks at Lara, but her friend can do nothing but nod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize immediately covers her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm so, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> sorry," she mutters in between sobs, unable to accept the fact that she may have attacked her closest friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara moves closer to her, an arm draped around her shoulder as she pulls her to her chest. "It's okay, Liz, you were not yourself," she whispers and Jonathan sits down and tries to comfort her too by caressing her back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After Elize has calmed down, she wipes away the last couple of tears and straightens herself. "I- I must have done terrible things, I don't even want to know them…" She shakes her head. "I'm so happy you found me. I… I shouldn't be here! I should be dead!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara widens her eyes. "You should </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> be dead!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I mean, I don't think someone should be able to come back to life," Elize insists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan smirks. "You're talking with the right person then." Somehow Lara still manages to kick his calf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize moves her gaze between them. "I'm sorry, what did I miss?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan grins. "Oh nothing, Elle just decided to die and therefore break some annoying sorcerer's heart, but don't worry, she's fine and still lik-" Another kick stops him from finishing his sentence and Elize turns to Lara, who smiles innocently. She leans back. "I died and Katrina brought me back to life."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize widens her eyes. "God, Katrina! She's still working with Agency X, I'm afraid. We have to-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Already done," Jonathan cuts her off with a smile and he leans with his forearms on his knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize blinks her eyes slowly and Lara proceeds to explain. "We have already found her and she is currently free. I'm not really sure where she is, but she's doing great."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh… okay." She adjusts herself on her seat and turns again to Lara. "So… what are you gonna do now?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, first of all we're bringing you to New York. Jonas Feige told us you may have some chips on you and I know someone who can remove them fast and painlessly," Lara explains.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jonathan shakes his head. "No way, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you two</span>
  </em>
  <span> are going to New York, I still have someone to find."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His sister furrows her brows. "You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> going after Sandra alone," she replies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll be fine," he shrugs. "You go and do your stuff, when you are done you can come join me." He gets up and throws at Lara her leather jacket. "You don't have to worry about me, I'm a responsible adult." Upon Lara's eyebrow arching, he corrects himself. "An adult, I'm an adult… but my point still stands!" Lara can do nothing but sigh and try to ignore Elize's amused expression as she gets ready to leave.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they leave Bruce's lab one hour and a half later, Lara's watch reads ten o'clock pm. She takes a roundabout as she finishes explaining the complicated events which led to her making a skyscraper collapse on Stephen. Elize nods and moves her gaze from the street to her friend. "About this guy, is he really </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> bad? I mean, Jonathan doesn't seem to like him too much…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara giggles. "He exaggerates. Stephen is, well… complicated. But he's a great man. He's smart, funny, kind, selfless, hardworking and a lot more." She stops at the red traffic lights and taps her nails on the steering wheel, trying to find the words to explain Stephen, but damn it is hard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She finds them just as the lights turn green. "He happens to have a whole lot of walls around himself, which make him look </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely</span>
  </em>
  <span> different from how he really is."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize nods as a light smirk forms on her face. "By the way you are talking about him, it seems like you're pretty close."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bats her eyelashes, eyes wide open, and even the brakes make a strange noise almost as if they were surprised. "We are, well… I don't know, are we close friends? Probably, who knows. We know each other very well and trust each other a lot, that's it." She turns for a second to Elize, with an expression that may resemble worry. "Right?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize laughs. "How am I supposed to know? I haven't even met him yet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara nods and, after a short silence, goes on talking about Katrina, the Avengers, Brad and everyone else. She describes the day she first met Jonathan and their fight, how their relationship has improved since then and how he's now helping her take down Agency X.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Wait," Elize interrupts her. "So you headbutted your own brother?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughs. "I don't even regret it that much. I mean, I felt worse when I punched a cop."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You did </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sighs as if they were discussing something absolutely normal and socially accepted. "In my defense, he was being an ass and-" A quick glance to Elize's raised eyebrow makes Lara stop. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>And</span>
  </em>
  <span> you should have known before dying that you were almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of my common sense."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize buries her face in her hands and pins her elbows on her knees. "That Stephen must have the patience of a saint…" The only response she gets is a weak giggle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they finally get to the Sanctum, they're still chatting. Lara leads her friend through the hallways as far as the library. Here she, her face turned to Elize, casually reaches for the door handle, but freezes when she instead collides with Stephen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize has to admit she never expected to see her friend blush furiously, her face one breath away from someone else's, then smile awkwardly and abruptly stop, swallowing hardly. She also never expected to see the man she just </span>
  <em>
    <span>assumes</span>
  </em>
  <span> is Stephen blush even more than Lara, frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights. After a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> embarrassing moment, Stephen straightens himself and clears his voice, before throwing a glance at Elize. "Please tell me this one is less annoying than your brother," he tells Lara.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She bites her bottom lip and nods. "I hope it's not a problem if-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"No, no, not at all, " he quickly answers, interrupting her. After another second of intense staring, he steps back and lets the two women in, then promptly leaves and closes the door, genuinely glad Wong was not around to witness such a scene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as Lara turns from the closed door to her friend, Elize furrows her brow in curiosity. "I'm sorry but... do you two always stare longingly into each other's eyes while being three inches apart?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara bats her eyelashes. "I- I don't know what you're talking about," she cuts short.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize arches a brow. "Uhm. Tell me, Elle," she says, "how come you have 3 PhDs and the emotional intelligence of a chair?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lara rolls her eyes and abandons her backpack on the floor. "I know what you're thinking but this is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> the case."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Elize nods, not convinced, and is about to reply but is interrupted by Lara's ringtone. The woman is fast to pick up the call, Tony's voice almost shaking. "Hey Elle. It's about Jonathan."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>*Nu știu despre cine vorbești. -&gt; I don't know who you're talking about.</span>
</p>
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